HO&C | Staff

HO&C Staff

Housing Opportunities & Concepts is staffed by seasoned professionals of the Real Estate Division of the Housing Opportunities Commission and select staff from other departments, such as procurement, information technology or public relations.

Earl De Maris

Earl De Maris is Managing Director of Housing Opportunities and Concepts (HO&C), the consulting arm of the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, Maryland (HOC). He has been with the Commission since 1999 and has also served as Chief Financial Officer, Director of Mortgage Finance and Director of Real Estate. Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. De Maris served five years as the Director of the Maryland Housing Fund (MHF) at the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and also was responsible for the management of the State's $2.5 billion mortgage portfolio. Mr. De Maris founded Perkins - De Maris in 1983, a regional investment banking firm and NASD broker-dealer, and managed the firm until its sale in 1992. He has also served as a member of the Senior Executive Service for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded electronics manufacturing company, as Director of Corporate Development for an international chemical company, and as a senior securities analyst for Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. on Wall Street. He has a B.A. degree from Columbia College and an MBA from The Wharton School. He was also a commissioned officer in the United States Naval Reserve.

Al Gentry

Al Gentry serves as Developer and Project Manager on HO&C engagements. Mr. Gentry has more than 25 years experience in real estate development, investment analysis, underwriting and finance. Mr. Gentry is project manager on an HO&C contract with Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHCD), Alexandria, Virginia, with the lead in developing the successful 9% tax credit application garnering $10 million in equity to finance The Station at Potomac Yard, a class A rental property at the 165 acre mixed use development at Potomac Yard. He has served as a consultant in preparing tax credit, tax-exempt bond applications and HOPE VI applications. He served as Project Director for the Housing Authority of the City of New Haven to coordinate the mixed-finance applications for the 455 unit, $95 million Elm Haven HOPE VI neighborhood revitalization project. Mr. Gentry has worked as an Investment Officer for John Hancock Equity Real Estate and Aetna Realty Investors, Inc. where he was involved in performing financial analysis, preparing and presenting acquisition investment packages, and negotiating financing for apartment, office, retail and industrial park investment properties. Al Gentry holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.

Muriel Watkins

Muriel Watkins a Senior Consultant with HO&C. She has more than 20 years experience in affordable housing and has supported innovative funding strategies to preserve, develop, and modernize housing as a consultant to federal and local agencies and as an advisor to nonprofit housing organizations. She is serving as a Program Manager on the HO&C contract with Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHCD) with responsibility for identifying vendors to support the tax credit application for The Station at Potomac Yard and issuing requests for proposals to retain firms for the market study, legal counsel, tax credit investment, and property management and assembling the application. Ms. Watkins has served as a contract reviewer for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Public Housing Investments Capital Fund Financing Program and the Department of the Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.

Robert Noland

Robert Noland recently joined HO&C as developer and project manager. Mr. Noland has nearly ten years experience in affordable housing development, finance and construction management. He also has experience in property management and housing asset management. From concept to ribbon-cutting, Mr. Noland has managed projects from special needs housing of 4 units to 100% affordable housing of 94 units with retail. Mr. Noland holds certifications in nonprofit finance, construction management and housing asset management. He has a BA degree from California State University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Steve Duncan

Steve Duncan joined Housing Opportunities & Concepts in January 2008. He brings more than 25 years diversified experience in real estate and construction in both public and private sectors, completing over $1 billion in development, new construction and rehabilitation. He is licensed as a real estate broker and class A contractor. He has participated in numerous affordable housing developments in several states and participated in several successful HOPE VI applications and their implementation. His portfolio includes operating his own development, brokerage and construction firm for 15 years. He was Director of Operations with Community Housing Partners Corp., the largest non-profit housing developer in Virginia. He served as Deputy Director at Interfaith Housing in Frederick, MD. Mr. Duncan was Vice President of Real Estate & Construction with Sona MedSpa International, Nashville, TN where he developed Sona’s real estate division to enhance start-up services to its franchisees, managed local real estate brokers nationwide and was responsible for the approval of all sites and for the negotiation and approval of construction contracts and leases for all locations in North America. Mr. Duncan is a graduate of Virginia Tech University, in Blacksburg, VA, where he has also done graduate studies toward his MPA.

Brian Kim

Brian Kim, Acquisitions Manager, has been with the Commission since 1999. Mr. Kim , as a Portfolio Manager in the Mortgage Finance Division, was responsible for managing a bond portfolio with over 60 properties totaling $360 million of outstanding debt. Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Kim worked as an Investment Analyst for The Commercial Bank of Korea responsible for underwriting fixed income debts. Mr. Kim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Business Administration, with concentration in International Finance, from American University.